What does Wright mean when he says he had ‘begun coping with the white world too late’? How does that manifest itself in these next chapters
Richard Wright believes he has not had the same experiences with whites that other blacks have had. Because of this, he was naive around whites - acting as if he were the same as them instead of lesser than them. In the early 1900's, that kind of behavior did not fly, especially in the South. But Richard Wright did not have the same experiences, he was rather isolated. His family wouldn't let him work until he was much older than his friends who started working. It seems that when he was in big cities that he did not have much experience with the other half, and when he lived in the rural areas, he had even less experience. He went to all black churches and all black schools. Wright proclaims that he simply did not understand what his place in society was because of his lack of experience and his natural rebel qualities.
When he moves to Memphis, he experiences culture shock. As he began working, he became more aware of the societal differences between whites and blacks. His friends coached him in how to cope with the white world. Although he wasn't very good at it, he picked up enough to first get some jobs, and second, steal. He learned how to cope with the white world when he began to steal. In order to get ahead in a society that would not let him, he had to do illegal things.
1 comment:
Josh,
I think you are right in that Richard was naive and isolated from the white society and that maybe why he is so independent and wants to break free of his inferior position in society. It is interesting because when Richard moved to Memphis he was trying to get away from the differences, yet the differences became more prominent. I also agree that when he started to violate the law and steal it was his way of rebelling against his place in society. I never really how isolated Richard was at the beginning of the book. Good Blog!
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